The next morning, YM's two teams packed their luggage and headed to Wuhan.
Lin Yan wore his headphones and chatted with his teammates along the way, looking relaxed and comfortable.
Everyone had just finished playing S6 and didn't care about the German Cup. It didn't matter if they won or lost.
Team Two's players were obviously more serious. They didn't get a direct promotion to LPL this summer, so it was impossible to say that they didn't feel pressured.
They had prepared for a week in advance to prove themselves in the German Cup.
Hao didn't come. He was still in Shanghai dealing with the BMW sponsorship. Team Two's coach was also a young man in his early twenties. Today, YM's two teams were managed by Hanyi and the main analyst, who were about to leave.
When they arrived at the airport, Su Cheng had just gotten out of the taxi. She wore a black sweater and jeans, carried a backpack, carried a bag in one hand, and pushed a small suitcase in the other. When she saw Lin Yan get out of the bus, she quickly waved to him.
Lin Yan took her suitcase. "Aren't you cold wearing these?"
It had drizzled the previous night. It was said that autumn rain was followed by cold. The temperature in Shanghai in the morning was approaching single digits.
"Do you want me to lend you my jacket?"
Su Cheng couldn't help but laugh. "Lin Yan, did you read some girly novels in the past two months? I'm an idiot. Don't you know how to wear more clothes in the cold?"
"My jacket looks thin, but it's actually quite warm." Su Cheng handed him the bag in her hand. "You said you didn't eat breakfast when you were on the bus?
I bought a pan-fried dish. "
Lin Yan stuffed food into his mouth as he walked to the airport entrance.
"Smells good …" Jack followed behind. The big-headed AD player hadn't cut his hair in a long time. It looked like he was wearing a level three helmet. "Good morning, Sister Su. Long time no see."
"Good morning, Jack." Su Cheng pursed her lips and smiled, her eyes curved.
"Does it smell good?" Xiao Tian passed by with a big suitcase and glanced at it. "I smelled something sour from afar."
"Brother Han, do you have food?" He chased after the coach. "Hurry up, I'm starving!"
"I'm not Guo Hao, where can I find food for you?"
Hanyi was obviously not as well-prepared as her male mother, Guo Hao. It was rare for him to wake up early, and now he was also hungry. "Let's talk after boarding the plane."
By the time everyone landed in Wuhan, it was already noon. The organizers provided a bus to take all of them to the hotel.
Time was tight, and they had a match tomorrow morning. Their opponent was the third place in Group A of the summer tournament, IM, who had also advanced from the LSPL.
In the afternoon, the members of Team One were free to do whatever they wanted. There would only be a pre-match meeting in the evening.
Several teammates ran to the Light Valley Pedestrian Street to play. Lin Yan was a little tired, so he stayed in his girlfriend's room to rest.
Su Cheng sat in front of the desk, the pen in her hand spinning rapidly, her eyes fixed on the laptop screen.
She was still reviewing the video of IM's summer competition. Although many members of IM's first team did not value this cup, Su Cheng was different.
She cherished this hard-won opportunity and planned to shine and contribute to the team.
Lin Yan laid in bed and scrolled through the news. He realized that the voting window for the All-Star Game would open next Monday.
Many players on WeChat were already asking for votes. Many of them did not go to the international tournament, and the entire off-season was very long. After resting enough, they naturally would not let go of this good opportunity to gain exposure.
Lin Yan did not want to go, so he posted on WeChat.
[All stars, please vote for other LPL midlaners. Let's vent more.]
After posting on WeChat, he threw his phone aside and looked at Su Cheng's thin figure working seriously. Her pen spinning technique was quite good, and the black pen never dropped from her hand.
The quiet room allowed Lin Yan's mind to gradually relax. He wanted to catch up on some sleep.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, the phone beside him suddenly vibrated.
Lin Yan woke up with a start. It was Hao calling.
He thought it was because of the WeChat post he had just posted, so he hurriedly picked it up.
Lin Yan could feel Hao's excitement through the phone. "Lin Yan, can we talk about the contract renewal now?"
Lin Yan glanced at Su Cheng, who was still in front of the computer looking at the video, and ran to the balcony to close the door.
"BMW's sponsorship contract will be signed next Monday. The money will be in soon." Guo Hao's voice was slightly hoarse.
"Let's be honest. I've never done such superficial things." He coughed and continued.
"There have been a lot of clubs contacting us these days. To be honest, most of the teams are offering you an eight-figure annual salary. The highest are Snakes and NB. They're willing to sign you with 12 million."
Lin Yan had always followed the rules. As long as the contract was not up, he would not contact other clubs.
He had never tested the waters of the free market. He thought it would be good if his salary next year could be a few million before tax. He didn't expect it to be so high.
He used the house to measure his worth again. The top lakeside single-family villa in Suzhou only cost 25 million. He could buy it with two years of his salary.
"We plan to give you a two-year contract with a total of 2.2 kilowatts plus a 4 million signing fee. Unlike other clubs, we still want the live broadcast contract to be in your hands, but personal advertising will be split with the club."
To be honest, Guo Hao's conditions were not lower than those of other clubs. Just the live broadcast contract alone could bring Lin Yan millions of dollars in income a year.
"You still want to give me a signing fee?"
"It's international practice …" Guo Hao said on the other side. Many clubs would give players and agents a lot of money for signing a contract. The money would be given once the contract was signed. This money was not included in the salary.
"Have you talked to the other players?" Lin Yan did not agree first. Instead, he asked Guo Hao in return.
Guo Hao knew what he was thinking.
He was worried that YM's champion players would leave the team in large numbers, resulting in poor results.
Now that Lin Yan had debuted a year ago, he had the S6 and MVP trophies in his hands. He definitely wanted to continue his strong performance in the coming year.
He was still far from the end of his career. This was the time to pursue results. If he ignored the team configuration just to make money, then he would be an idiot.
"I plan to confirm your intention to renew this weekend." Guo Hao spoke with confidence now. It seemed that BMW had given him a lot of money.
"That's fine …" Lin Yan thought for a moment. "If you can keep enough players, I don't mind reducing my salary."
His calculations were very precise.
In esports, as long as the team had good results, it would not be a problem for an individual to get millions of dollars in prize money. In addition, there would be increased exposure and popularity. These were all hidden values attached to the players.
It was not an exaggeration to say that if YM could maintain their current lineup, Lin Yan would not mind reducing his salary by a third. After all, winning the championship with a team was not shabby.
"No problem." Guo Hao heard this as if he had been injected with chicken blood. "Don't worry!"
Although he had given Lin Yan enough budget, Lin Yan was willing to open his mouth and give in undoubtedly expressing his trust in him.
Where else could he find such a player?
Guo Hao had previously led a team in LSPL for a year. Those players all wanted high salaries and could not wait to reach the LPL level.
There were very few celebrity players who were willing to take the initiative to reduce their salary.
Guo Hao immediately changed the topic. "What's up with that WeChat Moments?
You don't even need to ask for votes this year. The LPL mid-laner will definitely be yours. Are you going to give up such a good opportunity? "
"That … is too tiring." Lin Yan's tone was tactful.
"All-Star is just going to have fun. Just treat it as a vacation. If nothing goes wrong, Jin Gong should be going too. You two can accompany each other then."
"We'll talk about it when the time comes. Who knows if the mid-laner will be Broiler or GodV."
Lin Yan did not want to go. The main reason was that this year's All-Star was held in Spain. The long journey back and forth would be too tiring. If it was held in China, he would not mind going.
Guo Hao did not try to persuade him.
"Also, keep an eye on Jack for the next two days. Don't let him eat those messy things. I've reminded him a few times, but he's still thinking about eating instant noodles …" He nagged before hanging up.
With this phone call, Lin Yan's emotions, which had been stirred up by the management's departure, finally calmed down.
…
After dinner, in the training room.
"Everyone is familiar with the members of IM. There are fewer personal characteristics that I can analyze. However, I noticed that when they enter the first half of the summer tournament, their opening routine is very fixed."
The map of Summoner's Canyon was still hanging on the whiteboard. Su Cheng was scribbling on it with a marker.
"Other than their most familiar defensive strategy, IM also likes to change the jungle at the beginning of the game. After forcefully invading the bottom half of the jungle, the bottom lane will fight very fiercely. They will frequently change their health and skills."
Su Cheng placed the magnetic stone in the center of the map. "Their starting mid-laner, Athena, will use heroes like Rock Sparrow, Ice Maiden, and Karma, who can snatch the top lane in the early stages. They will quickly push the line three times and use the third wave of minions to pin down the opponent's mid-laner at the top lane. Then, they will go to the bottom lane to support."
"As mentioned before, IM forcefully changes the jungle at the beginning of the game. Their jungler will kill three groups of monsters. Three minutes later, he will meet up with the mid-laner and run to the bottom lane to encircle and suppress."
YM had not fought against IM for almost half a year. They did not know much about their strategy. After hearing Su Cheng's words, they immediately reacted.
"Isn't this the four-pack that we're best at?" Jack slapped his thigh.
Su Cheng nodded. "It's a four-pack, but it starts earlier than ours. In this version, the teleport landing time is 4.5 seconds. They can completely kill the bottom lane before landing on the top and middle lane and then leave."
Lin Yan raised his hand. "Won't it solve the problem if I squash that Athena?"
Su Cheng waved her hand. "No, no, no … I want you to beat them at their own game. If you find out that IM is following this strategy in the early stages, Ning, you change the jungle and kill three groups of monsters. Then, you will immediately rush back to the city. I've done my calculations. If you don't take the double buff and only kill three groups of monsters, you will have just enough time to rush back."
Before the game, they had discussed for a while. They would let the exhausted Xiao Tian, who had just finished the World Championship, play a no-fight card and send Ning for this best-of-five.
At this time, Xiao Tian was lying on the sofa with his eyes closed. He left very peacefully.
Lin Yan was quite jealous. He had been playing high-intensity games for an entire year. Now, he also wanted to rest.
Damn it, why didn't he have a substitute?
Ning nodded repeatedly when he heard Su Cheng's words. He seemed to be very energetic. He had already made up his mind not to renew his contract at the start of the transfer period. YM would go elsewhere.
He didn't play a single game in the entire World Championship. In the end, he didn't even get a single skin. Ning knew very well that with several players younger than him suppressing him, he didn't have a chance to stand out.
He had taken the initiative to ask to be a starter in this German Cup. He planned to shine a little and wait until the transfer period opened to sign a starter contract with another team.
YM was good at humanizing management. The always serious Hanyi probably felt a little guilty about not letting Ning play in S6. She might as well give him a chance to get a contract.
The game was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. the next day. YM arrived at the Wuhan Sports Center at 8 a.m. to prepare.
Xiao Tian didn't come at all. He stayed in the hotel room to make up for it, waiting to attend the annual awards ceremony on Sunday.
Jack and Xiao Ming yawned constantly as they put on makeup. Waking up early was torture for most pro players.
Lin Yan, on the other hand, was full of energy and was in top condition.
"Brother Ran, didn't you say you were tired yesterday?" Jack yawned again as he scrolled through the Tieba.
"Can't help it. The visual stimulation is too deadly," Lin Yan mumbled.
"What the hell?"
Ning didn't react. He took the longest time to put on makeup in the team. The makeup artist had to make him look less tan, and the texture of his skin had to be pulled up by a layer.
Lin Yan shook his head and didn't say anything.
The door to the dressing room was pushed open, and Su Cheng walked in, carrying coffee and takeout.
"… Sister Su Cheng is so beautiful today." Jack took the drink, looked up at Su Cheng, and immediately praised her.
"Yeah?"
Su Cheng looked down at what she was wearing. "Lin Yan just said I didn't feel that way in this outfit."
She wore a dark gray business suit and low-heeled leather shoes. Her long black hair was combed behind her ears. The suit set off her fair skin, slender legs, and tall figure.
"You're not going on stage for BP. Why are you wearing this?"
Lin Yan clicked his tongue. His cheeks were red, and he didn't dare to look up at Su Cheng. He was afraid that his mind would be filled with dirty role-playing material again.
"Let's be more formal. I saw that our analysts wore suits before." Su Cheng laughed.
"He's just an old man trying to show off. It doesn't matter what the analysts of the other teams wear," Ning said casually.
The old man had just gone outside to make a pot of goji berry hot tea. When he came back, he heard this and almost splashed the hot water on Ning's face.
At ten o 'clock in the morning, the German Cup was unveiled on time.
"Let us welcome the 2016 LPL Summer Champions, the 2016 Global Champions, YM!" The host, Ren Dong, said loudly.
The YM fans below the stage were loud. When every YM player was introduced, they would let out deafening cheers. From time to time, the fans would scream in dolphin tones.
In their first year of existence, they had won a sub-league championship, a top league championship, and the Global Champions. With three championships, YM was now the most popular team in the LPL. Many spectators bought tickets to enter the stadium to watch YM play live.
When IM was introduced, the cheers in the stadium instantly dropped by an octave. The contrast between the two made IM feel quite awkward.
Their Summer Championship was a late-game operation. This kind of playstyle was the least popular among the spectators. Other than the masters of operations, SKT and Samsung, who would watch a 40-minute match where a single-digit kill count exploded?
Jack ran back to the player area to adjust the settings and said, "This is a bit like the RNG we faced when we first entered the LPL."
"Things have changed with the passage of time …" Lin Yan sighed.
"Hey hey hey!" Xiao Ming followed up. He was about to start the 2D quote when Hanyi slapped him on the back of the head.
The version used in the German Cup was 6.21. Compared to the 6.18 of the Global Finals, Nanqiang and Panther Lady's strength was weakened. However, the main artery was not cut. The two wild core heroes were still the overlords of the jungle.
The BP of both sides was quite conventional. It basically continued the idea of the S6 Finals.
In the first round, the blue YM: Top laner Bobby, Jungler Blind Monk, Mid laner Ryze, Bottom laner Lu Jin, and Ella.
The red IM: Top laner Troll, Jungler Spider, Mid laner Rock Sparrow, Policewoman, and Nami.
YM's cheers were repeated several times. Accompanied by the deafening cheers in the stadium, the big screen in the stadium loaded into the Summoner's Canyon.
"IM wants to use the strength of Rock Sparrow and Spider to do a level one invasion!" Today's commentators were Ze Yuan and Remember. The two of them had a tacit understanding of each other.
"YM retreated very decisively. Ning rushed to the top half of the IM zone alone to use the buff."
"AJ didn't plan to stop him and let Ning eat this red buff." Ze Yuan was constantly paying attention to the small map. "However, the fight in the bottom lane is very fierce. Golden Horn is already at critical health!"
"IM didn't handle the details in the bottom lane well. Jack and Ming focused fire on the target very quickly. Policewoman was crippled in one set of skills!"
"I'll go back to the city. You guys wait for me in the bottom lane!" Ning was eager to give it a try.
Everything was going according to Su Cheng's script. Ning didn't need to use his brain at all.
He killed three groups of monsters in the top half of the IM zone and leveled up to level 3. He immediately went back to the city, bought a longsword and Eyes of Truth, and ran to the bottom lane.
"Rock Sparrow is going to the bottom lane. You guys be careful." Lin Yan picked up a paper cup and took a sip of coffee as he finished off the enemy.
"When they get past the tower, I'll kill them with my skills."
Xiao Ming's hands were no longer trembling after he returned to China after winning the S Tournament. His mind was clear and he was quite confident.
After all, he had played five games with the strongest team in the bottom lane of S6. They were much stronger than IM's bottom lane. How could there be any pressure?
"IM's Spiders have leveled up to level 3 and are heading to the bottom lane. Athena's Rock Sparrow has also entered YM's jungle and is heading to the bottom lane … They're going to kill four packs of two in three minutes!"
"But Ning has already sensed the danger in advance. He switched to his jungle speed to level 3 and rushed to the bottom lane's second tower to crouch!
What kind of consciousness is this! "He remembered that he now had the feeling of a Doll. His voice was quite exaggerated.
The audience saw Blind Monk crouching in the grass of the second tower and exclaimed in disbelief.
Athena's Rock Sparrow accelerated with the help of the wall and had arrived at YM's Gargoyle Camp. She joined Spiders and was ready to attack the bottom lane!
IM's Nami took the lead and threw out her Q's Prison of Blue Waves.
Xiao Ming wanted to twist away at first, but then he realized that he had to be professional as an actor. His acting skills must be realistic and he just twisted and hit the bubble.
Jin Jiao was stunned for a moment. He didn't understand Xiao Ming's movement, but time was tight. He didn't have time to think about it. He quickly called for a jungler to cross the tower and at the same time set up a clip under Xiao Ming's feet.
Jack gave healing before Nami ignited and hung up to ensure that the healing was full.
Spiders took the lead to resist the tower, and Rock Sparrow began to attack.
Ning came out when he saw the bubble hit Xiao Ming. At this time, he flashed W to put a shield on Ella, and the Acquired Sound Wave hit Spiders who were resisting the tower!
"This is Ning's crouch!
The four IM players were caught off guard! "
"Ning's shield and Jack's healing made Xiao Ming release all his skills before he died. It's hard for IM to escape!"
Spiders were burned to death by Xiao Ming's Ignite in the air, and Rock Sparrow was followed by Ning with a red buff.
Jack's fatal Brilliance forced Rock Sparrow to flash, and Ning kept chasing. When the second Sky Sound Wave finished its cooldown, it accurately hit Rock Sparrow.
He also carefully paused in place and used Touch the Eye W to trick Rock Sparrow into using W's Rock Spike. Then he followed up with a second echo to kill it.
The audience cheered instantly. YM lived up to their expectations and got the advantage at the beginning of the game!
"One for two, IM's jungler died. This wave gave away the double buff of Spiders. It's a loss!"
Ze Yuan was full of enthusiasm. "At the same time, the Ran in the middle lane took the opportunity to push a large wave of creeps into the tower. Rock Sparrow is going to explode!"
"YM's substitute jungler Ning proved his strength in the first three minutes. His sense of smell is too sharp. He guessed that IM was going to go for a four-pack. Even before Rock Sparrow pushed the creeps, Blind Monk had already returned to the city and ran to the bottom lane!" The audience couldn't believe it.
"Including the two Sky Sound Waves, they were also very accurate. The way they killed Rock Sparrow was full of details!" The commentator shook his head. "Are all YM's substitutes this strong?"
The caster's camera suddenly switched to a full-screen close-up of team YM's lounge.
YM's second team was also sitting there to watch the game. They filled up the lounge, but the audience's sharp eyes still noticed Su Cheng standing in the front row.
After Ning succeeded in crouching and killing two players, Su Cheng let out a long sigh of relief. She smiled and clapped with Hanyi and the analysts.
[There's a woman?
There's something wrong with Brother's Alliance!]
[Is she the team manager?
She looks so beautiful. I'm in love!]
[The manager is the man's mother Guo Hao. He showed his face when he won the championship.]
[I'm asking for information. I just want to get to know her.]
[F * ck off. She's my wife!]
The comments in the live broadcast were quite realistic. Sometimes, they even discussed the female referee behind the players, not to mention the beautiful Su Cheng in a suit.
At this time, Broiler, who came to participate in the annual awards ceremony, was also in the audience. IG's summer competition was fourth in Group A, so he couldn't participate in the German Cup. He could only come here to watch the game for free.
The IGLOL branch manager, Su Xiaoluo, said, "This jungler's awareness is very good. His maneuvering is also passable."
"His maneuvering is okay. His awareness is quite good." After two years in the LPL, Broiler's Chinese accent was getting weaker. "But it's possible that the coach and analysts saw through IM's tactical arrangements."
"That's not bad. We're lacking a jungler now. It's fine as long as he listens to you in the game." Su Xiaoluo's meaning was very clear.
Broiler didn't raise any objections.
After a whole season of vigorous changes in the bottom lane to catch the traitor, IG's management finally came to a unanimous conclusion: support and AD were valuable. Tabe and Rain Emperor had to be carried.
They decisively changed to a new bottom lane — Marge and Megan (Sapphire).
Compared to Tabe, Megan was quite quiet. She didn't participate in team decision-making during practice matches. She followed behind her teammates as a fighter. However, her maneuvering was more reliable than Tabe, who ate Rain Emperor and died together with AD.
Marge was a high ranked player in the national server. Her skill was also not bad. She was about Ding Huang's level higher than Rain Emperor, but she liked to scold people.
The person she scolded was none other than Broiler. She even scolded him in Korean, which he didn't know where she learned from.
The good guy Broiler didn't know how he provoked her. He tolerated her sarcastic remarks, but Marge almost confiscated his mother's stun baton.
Who could stand that?
Broiler immediately reported to the management and Principal Wang.
Principal Wang had nothing to say to Broiler. In the past, he also prevented himself from becoming the hero of Old Eight's generation. When he heard that someone in the club dared to scold Broiler, he immediately told Marge to pack her things and leave.
Now, IG's bottom lane had fewer people. The management pondered about letting Child's Wandering God return to the bottom lane. Although 443 had a phobia of dogs and was also a softie in big competitions, it wouldn't be a problem for him to play in the regular season.
The Twin Stars of the top lane had already made it clear that they wanted to leave IG. However, Su Xiaoluo found a Korean top laner named TheShy through Child's Wandering God's recommendation.
He immediately used the support Ben to exchange with WE. He specifically asked for TheShy, which was exactly what WE wanted.
WE's original support Zero was already old and needed a new support to replace her position.
TheShy was dispensable to WE. They had the top domestic top laner 957. In addition to the two Korean supports in the bottom lane, there was no place for TheShy to play.
Su Xiaoluo turned something rotten into something magical and successfully revived the stagnant pool of IG.
Now, they only lacked a domestic jungler. Su Xiaoluo looked at Ning on the stage. If it was as expected, this jungler could be signed for 500,000 yuan. It was extremely cheap.
As long as they signed Ning, they might even be able to get a spot in S7 next season.
He suddenly felt that his ability to draw cards was maxed out. He was simply a genius in operations.
Which management could be as good as him?
Su Xiaoluo couldn't help but lean back.